High Likelihood of Breaking Wudu

Question: If one is 99% sure that one has broken wudu, should one make wudu?

Answer:

Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your important question.

Even if one is 99% certain that one has broken wudu, one does not need to make wudu, and does not need to check (Minhaj al Talibin, Nawawi).

The Prophet (Allah bless him) was asked about a man who thinks that he passed wind in the prayer and he said, ‘Let him not leave [the prayer] unless he hears something or smells something’ (Bukhari and Muslim).

Explaining this hadith, Imam al Nawawi says, ‘This means that he knows one of the two happened. It is not a condition that he actually hear or smell something by consensus of Muslim scholars.  It is also of no significance whether both breaking wudu and not breaking wudu are equally likely or whether one is more likely than the other. [In fact] it doesn’t even matter if one is confident of either one since [as long as one is not certain] there is no need to make wudu in any of these scenarios’ (Sharh Muslim, Nawawi).

I pray this helps.

[Ustadh] Farid

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language